European giants Spain proved too strong for a gallant New Caledonia in Group F of the FIFA U20 Women’s World Cup, booking their place in the knockout stages with a convincing 11-0 victory in Sosnowiec, Poland.
The Pacific Islanders were always up against it facing one of the tournament favourites and were left fighting a defensive rearguard action for most of the ninety minutes as Spain rained in a mountain of shots, many repelled via incredible defending and some super goalkeeping.
Spain had five on the board by the half-time break, the scoring opened inside the opening ten minutes by Pau Comenador, with Marisa Garcia (twice), Celia Segura and Alba Cerrato on target in the opening forty-five minutes.
Segura would end the match with four goals to her name, including one from the penalty spot, as Spain scored regularly after the break, adding extra gloss to the scoreboard close to full-time with late goals from Carla Julia and Rosalia Dominguez bringing up double figures, the latter in stoppage time.
New Caledonia didn’t threaten the Spain goal but have one more chance in the Group, rounding off their campaign with a fixture against Nigeria in Łódź.
RESULT
Spain: 11 (Pau COMENADOR 10’, 49’, Marisa GARCIA 17’, 45+1’, Celia SEGURA 33’, 46’, 53’, 65’ (p), Alba CERRATO 43’, Carla JULIA 89’, Rosalia DOMINGUEZ 90+4’)
New Caledonia: 0
HT: 5-0